Location: Underway to Tarragona
The first 24-hour passage day! The mildly rough seas, and minimal seasickness made todays voyage much more enjoyable than some previous. Good weather and sunny skies were a nice complement to the rather relaxed day.
Last night and early this morning, Argo kept getting harassed by the Spanish coast guard due to a search mission for a Russian submarine. Our course kept getting moved dramatically, and at one point, we were almost sailing back towards where we came! Thankfully, these setbacks did not add much time to the passage, only a few hours.
Today, the crew had their first quizzes and assignments due: a quick 10-question fish ID quiz and a fish ID log book for Marine Biology. Aced!
Crew members Teo and Bryson made the ultimate sacrifice this morning, pumping the head bilge to prevent the cabin area from smelling and further prevent the spread of seasickness. All three watch teams have been changing shifts every two to four hours (even at night!) since yesterday morning. The change to a strange sleep schedule hit the crew hard today, but with the help of tea, coffee, and the occasional energy drink, everyone made it to the end.
After Marine Biology, the crew learned ship safety information and more knots in seamanship class. After classes were over, half of the crew took a much-needed nap, and the others finished cramming homework for upcoming deadlines.
Our head chef today was Luca, with sous chefs Cameron and Charlie. After breakfast, lunch was lasagna and salad, and dinner was mashed potatoes, eggplant, and chickpeas. Overall, today was a beautiful day to be on Argo! Thrilling seas, exciting moments, relaxing time, and fascinating lectures made the slow passage day go by fast. The sunrise this morning and sunset this evening were beautiful, so the watch teams had a good view all day. Tomorrow we will arrive in Tarragona, Spain, where we will dock and take a train to Barcelona in the coming days. We have a lot of Tapas and Gaud in our future!